


Sleeplessness and the Raptor Brain

by HolmesianDeduction



Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Friendship, Gen, Post-Canon, Post-War, Tobias and his Hork-Bajir friends, well sort of post-canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 15:48:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17164805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HolmesianDeduction/pseuds/HolmesianDeduction
Summary: As has become a frequent reality for him, Tobias has been having trouble sleeping, but even he can't go without sleep forever - especially he can't.





	Sleeplessness and the Raptor Brain

**Author's Note:**

> This particular piece was written over a year ago and is dedicated to my friend [Sylvs](https://twitter.com/RoAnnaSylver) for their birthday and as one of our been-around-for-ages fandoms in common is _Animorphs_ , and we both adore Tobias, I wrote something with him even though I’d never written _Animorphs_ fic at all before.

           Tobias wakes up like clockwork at one in the morning out of habit. It’s deep winter, the coldest it’s been in years, and he’s not as resilient as he used to be so he’s resigned himself to abandoning his tree at night and taking refuge in the New Barn. The New Barn, wasn’t a barn at all, really, but a part of a wildlife rehabilitation facility that Cassie had built on the fringes of the Hork-Bajir settlement at Yellowstone. It’s safe and secure, and more importantly, it’s climate controlled, but old habits are hard to break, and he finds himself jolting awake as the hands on the clock click over from one hour to the next, his eyes quickly adjusting to the twilight produced by the emergency lights glowing in the darkness.

           Hawk bodies, he’s found, are distinctly unlike human ones in that they tend to refuse to go without sleep longer than necessary, and he can’t force himself to stay awake when he’s running on empty the way he would like to – if he had his way, he might not sleep at all these days. Not with the way his mind keeps racing even when he’s sleeping. Sometimes he wonders if his bird brain will eventually completely short out from trying to handle the strain of supporting a human consciousness alongside its usual duties, but it’s made it this long at least. He can’t help but wonder what would happen if it did – would he die? Revert to animal instinct and go Full Hawk? Nothing at all?

           His thoughts are interrupted by the sound of a door clanging shut heavily and footsteps. _Not Cassie. Cassie’s in Washington this week with Toby._ Craning to see from his perch, he watches and waits. There is the sound of clumsy clicking against metal, and he uses the sound as an opportunity to inch along the rafters until he can see the intruder.

           <Ket?>

           The Hork-Bajir looks up, squinting in the dim light. “Tobias?” There is still a slight haltingness to her pronunciation of his name – probably always will be, but it’s barely noticeable to him after all this time.

           <Yeah, it’s me.> He almost asks “Why are you here?” but doesn’t – she’ll tell him.

           “Cassie say,” she pauses, then adds, “Toby say ‘Go to Cassie’s place. Find Tobias.’”

           <Toby told you to come here?>

           She dips her head – about as close as she can come to nodding.

           <Why?>

           “You need,” she hesitates, her eyes focusing elsewhere while she looks for the word she needs, “Company. Friends.” She gestures to the door.

           He hesitates, but eventually glides down to a beam not far above her. <I’m coming.>


End file.
